§ 4.04.00. Conventional subdivision design standards.

4.04.01.

Generally.

A.

The purposes of subdivision design standards are:

1.

To provide for safe and efficient traffic circulation by development of a coordinated street system in relation to major streets, adjoining subdivisions, and public facilities;

2.

To achieve individual lots of reasonable utility and livability;

3.

To provide for the acceptance of land for public rights-of-way;

4.

To provide for the installation and construction of utilities, streets, stormwater management facilities, and other public improvements essential to service land being subdivided;

5.

To assure that public improvements will be constructed according to safe and durable standards;

6.

To enable the dedication or reservation of land for public schools, parks, and other public purposes;

7.

To assure that development will occur within an environmentally compatible setting and free of flood hazards;

8.

To provide for the subdivision of larger tracts into smaller parcels of land; and

9.

To establish the procedure for submittal, approval, and recording of subdivision plats within Henry County.

B.

The standards for design and layout of conventional subdivisions are contained in section 4.04.00. The standards for design and installation of public improvements and infrastructure for subdivisions and all other developments are contained in chapter 8.

C.

Alternative designs for subdivisions. At the discretion of the property owner and applicant, subdivision design may be proposed in compliance with alternative design standards. Clustering, through the application of conservation subdivision standards, is allowed. Design standards for these and other alternative arrangements are set forth in chapter 6.

D.

General requirements for subdivision design and layout. All subdivision design shall conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which the land is located. In addition, subdivisions which are proposed to contain commercial or industrial uses shall be designed to ensure consistency with the requirements for commercial buildings as set forth in section 4.01.03.

4.04.02.

Major and minor subdivisions.

A.

Approval required.

1.

No person shall subdivide or rearrange a lot line of any lot or parcel of land, grade or modify the contours of the land, install streets, install utilities, or make other improvements to the land without complying with the provisions of section 4.04.00.

2.

No building permits shall be issued and no public improvements or services shall be authorized or installed in any unapproved subdivision.

3.

Procedures for application, review, and approval of preliminary and final plats, and acceptance of public improvements, are set forth in chapter 12 of this ULDC.

B.

(Reserved.)

C.

Subdivisions that are not lot divisions as defined herein are major subdivisions.

D.

Lot divisions as defined herein are exempted from the requirements specific to major subdivisions, but shall conform to all of the applicable requirements of the ULDC, including, but not limited to, minimum lot size requirements for the applicable zoning district. Any flag lots shall have a minimum of sixty (60) feet of road frontage per lot as measured at the right-of-way. The administrator (or their representative) shall have the authority to approve lot divisions. No building permit shall be issued for a tract of land created as the result of a lot division without it being approved.

E.

Periodic lot divisions. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this ULDC, any parcel may be subdivided into no more than five (5) tracts every five (5) years without regard to the requirement for paved roads and without the necessity of submitting development plans for review and approval. For the purposes of this Code section, the term "parcel" shall mean and refer to tracts or parcels of land that are identified by the Henry County Tax Parcel Map, prepared and maintained by the Henry County Tax Assessor's Office, which map is incorporated herein by this reference.

4.04.03.

General design standards for major subdivisions.

A.

General requirements for public improvements and infrastructure are set forth in this section. Technical standards for the design and construction of improvements are set forth in chapter 8.

B.

Subdivision entrance signs. Signs are permissible on the ground to identify the name and entrance of a residential, commercial, or industrial subdivision pursuant to the standards for signs, set forth in section 7.04.00.

C.

General requirements for potable water system. Water mains properly connected with the county water supply system or with an alternate supply system approved by the county health department shall be constructed in such a manner so as to adequately serve all lots shown on the subdivision plat for both residential use and fire protection. All materials, labor, equipment, and other items related to construction of the water distribution system shall be provided in accordance with policies and specifications of the Henry County Water and Sewerage Authority.

D.

General requirements for public sewer system. When the subdivision is located within the service area of a public sewerage system, sanitary sewers shall be installed to serve all lots with connection to the public system. Where sanitary sewer service is not feasible or available, all lots without connection to the public system shall be developed with a private on-site sewage disposal system approved by the Henry County Health Department, consistent with the minimum lot area requirements of section 4.01.01.

E.

General requirements for utilities. The subdivider shall make the necessary arrangements with the appropriate utility companies for the installation of utilities to assure that all lots have adequate gas, electrical and telephone communication services.

F.

General requirements for public lands. Where a site within a tract of land proposed for a subdivision is determined to be necessary for a public park, school, fire station, water or sewage treatment plant, water reservoir, public works yard, or other public facility, the necessary land area shall be reserved or dedicated to the appropriate county authority having jurisdiction over the operation and maintenance of the proposed facility. The preliminary and final plats for the subdivision shall show these sites as being reserved or dedicated.

4.04.04.

Design standards for blocks and lots.

A.

Subdivision blocks shall have sufficient width to provide for two (2) tiers of lots of appropriate depth and length. The length, widths, and shapes of block, shall be determined with regard to:

1.

Dimensional requirements for lots, as set forth in section 4.01.01;

2.

Provision of adequate building sites suitable to special needs of the type of use contemplated;

3.

Convenient access, circulation, control, and safety of street traffic; and

4.

Topographic condition.

B.

Blocks shall be not less than five hundred (500) feet or more than one thousand two hundred (1,200) feet in length, except where topographic or other conditions of the site make such dimensions impractical.

C.

Mid-block pedestrian easements: For blocks over eight hundred (800) feet in length, one (1) public crosswalk of not less than ten (10) feet wide near the center and entirely across the full width of the block shall be required, in order to provide access to schools, playgrounds, shopping centers, transportation, and other community facilities.

D.

Insofar as practical, side lot lines shall be at right angles to straight lines or radial to curved street right-of way lines. Side lot lines shall be in line with cross drainpipes under streets where they are located.

E.

Through lots or double frontage lots shall be prohibited except where essential to provide separation of residential development from major traffic arterials or to overcome specific disadvantages of topography and orientation of the property to be subdivided. Access to through lots or double frontage lots shall be from the lower classification street.

F.

Flag lots shall be prohibited in subdivisions unless topographic conditions (certified by a professional engineer), or the shape and orientation of the property to be subdivided make the inclusion of some flag lots necessary.

1.

Flag lots are intended only to provide use of the rear portion of the extremely deep tracts of land for residential purposes.

2.

Where it is necessary to design flag lots, no more than five (5) percent of the lots in a subdivision shall be flag lots.

3.

The street frontage for a flag lot shall be at least fifty (50) percent of the lot width required for the zoning district in which the subdivision is located.

4.

Front setbacks for flag lots shall be measured from the first widest part of the lot. No structures shall be built on the access strip that provides access from the building site to the street.

G.

Easements.

1.

All lots within a subdivision shall provide easements for stormwater drainage and detention systems for future sanitary sewer installations, and for gas, electric, and telephone utilities five (5) feet from the ROW line.

2.

Rear lot line easements. Easements along all rear lot lines shall be a minimum of twenty (20) feet wide. Ten (10) feet shall be provided on the final plat from each adjoining lot. Wider easements may be required by the water and sewerage authority depending on the size, location, and depth of proposed or existing sewers.

3.

Side lot easements. Easements along side lot lines shall be a minimum of twenty (20) feet wide, ten (10) feet along each adjoining lot. Wider easements may be required by the water and sewerage authority depending on the size and depth of proposed or existing sewers.

4.

Easements along streams and drainageways. Where a subdivision is traversed by a watercourse, drainageway, channel or stream, there shall be provided a stormwater drainage easement and sanitary sewer easement or drainage easement or drainage right-of-way along each side of the watercourse for the purpose of widening, deepening, relocating, improving, or protecting such easement. The easement, an undisturbed buffer, shall not be less than twenty-five (25) feet wide. A wider easement may be required for large streams and drainageways and for future sanitary sewer installations.

5.

Stormwater detention facility easements. All stormwater detention facilities shall be accessible from a public street by a minimum twenty (20) feet wide easement and there shall be an easement for the detention facility including a minimum of twenty (20) feet around the outside perimeter of the facility.

6.

All easements shall be shown on final plats.

H.

Minimum lot area and easements. Proposed subdivision lots which are traversed by utility easements for gas, electric, telephone, and, water and sewer utilities shall contain the minimum buildable area defined by the zoning district, exclusive or outside of areas occupied by these easements.

Illustrations of Design Concepts and Requirements:

( Ord. No. 16-01, § I, 7-19-16 )